What's Not in a Book
by justanotherwitch
Summary: Most times, she was off studying alone in the library. As she always said to herself, school was more important than making friends. No one really knew what all was happening in her own world. But as she continues to struggle in classes, deal with bullying in the dormitory, and tutoring, life takes a turn for the worst. Will Hermione Granger crack under the pressure?
1. Prologue

**Prologue.**

Hermione looked down at her watch, pushing her bushy hair out of her eyes. The train was to arrive in two minutes time, and the station was filling up rather quickly. All around her there were children wearing black robes tagging along behind their parent s. Over by the wall there were teenagers who were catching up with their friends that they hadn't got to see all summer. It would all appear to be ordinary if it were not for that each of them pushed a trolley and had a wand sticking out of their pocket. In their trunks there were textbooks full of spells and directions on how to care for magical creatures. The chirps of owls rang throughout the station, along with much laughter and yelling. One word to describe all of it would be chaotic, but there was no time to worry of the matter of that right now, for the Hogwarts Express would be pulling up at any minute.

Hogwarts. When Hermione received her letter she couldn't believe it, and at first she didn't. It was a lot to take in; that wizards and dragons and unicorns, all of that existed. That magic was indeed _real._ Her parents, who were dentists, had never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but convinced her that there could be a chance that this all was true. There was no reason for someone to take so much time coming up with fake names for places and supplies just to make someone look foolish. In order to prove that this wasn't all just some hoax, she had agreed to go with her parents to see if the place where she was intended to buy her school supplies, Diagon Alley, was truly existent. Following the directions, they were eventually led to a pub and what seemed to be an ordinary brick wall. But the moment the bricks had moved aside, creating a doorway, Hermione knew that this all was not some childish prank, but actually real. People paraded around from shop to shop wearing pointed hats and looking through windows that were full of broomsticks and wands.

Her parents had said how proud they were, that she had been given such and amazing opportunity. Hermione was quite thrilled about it all herself, that is until the real hassle had begun. Since her family had been muggles, they had no wizard money or any knowledge of what was required in the wizarding world. Even after the both of them read many books and filled out many papers to convert their money, they were very confused about the whole matter. So, for the sake of her parents, Hermione had begun studying all about Hogwarts and the history of the magical world. They were very interested in it all, and she wanted to be able to share all of it with the both of them as well. It wasn't long till the whole family had been counting down the days till she was to leave, anticipating the experience to come.

Now, standing in the station next to her parents who were both looking around in awe, Hermione felt as though she were going to be sick. She was going to be gone for such a long time, and there would be so much work and studying to do since she wasn't as informed as some of the other students. When would she find time to sit down and write to her family? A loud whistle echoed through the hall, interrupting her train of thought and snapping her back to reality. Everyone jumped up and turned to see the approaching train. It was black with red and golden paint decorating the front. She had been waiting for the arrival of the Hogwarts Express for over an hour now. She made sure to show up extra early to intend she wouldn't miss it, because therefore she would be missing the whole opportunity.

Her mother bent down embracing her in a warm hug. He mother's hugs had always comforted her but right now she didn't think that anything could make her feel better. "We are going to miss you so much darling," she said but that only seemed to make Hermione more anxious.

"I won't be seeing you both again till Christmas," she said, her stomach seeming to sink even further down.

Her father rested a hand on her back. "You can write to us whenever you feel like it! We can't wait to hear all about it." She nodded, unable to speak any longer. "Now you better hurry or you'll miss your train!"

Grabbing her trunk she took a deep breath. She forced a small smile and looked up at the both of them. "I love you!" she said giving them each one last hug before grabbing her trunk and lugging it away. Next time she turned around she saw that they had disappeared in the swarm of parents waving goodbye to their children. Hermione would miss them, but this new adventure was only just beginning.

…..

**A/N: So this fanfiction is basically the first Harry Potter novel written in Hermione's perspective. I feel as if we didn't get to know as much about her personal life and I can't wait to see how you guys end up liking this!**

**Please leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.**

No matter how many places she looked, almost every compartment Hermione popped her head into seemed to be either occupied or it was being reserved. Finally she came upon a compartment whose only occupant was a small boy with a round face and tousled brown hair. He seemed to be occupied at the moment, keeping something from squirming out of his hands so she knocked on the side of the door.

"Excuse me," she said as he froze and turned to look up, "I haven't been able to find anywhere to sit, would you mind if I sat in here?"

He shook his head back and forth very quickly. "N-no problem," he stuttered. She let out a sigh of relief and lugged her trunk inside. All she could hope for now is that this boy would be willing to chat with her on the ride to Hogwarts.

"My name is Hermione Granger," she said, offering an outstretched hand.

He looked at her hand but kept his own two clasped together, containing something in his grasp. "I'm Neville Longbottom."

"If you don't mind me asking," Hermione began, her curiosity finally getting the best of her, "What've you got in your hands?"

Slowly he parted them and inside was a toad covered in green and brown warts. He had just started to say, "His name is Trevor-" when the toad hopped from his hands and onto the floor. "Grab him!"

The two both lunged forward with their arms outstretched but the toad had hopped right out of the compartment and into the hall before either of them could reach him. Neville instantly began breathing at a fast pace and was looking faint.

"Don't worry," sure assured him, getting to her feet. "We'll find him. Get up." He shook his head, a terrified expression on his face. "Well, would you rather have someone accidently squash him?"

He shook his head again, so Hermione took it upon herself to pull him to his feet and help him gain his balance. "I'll go this way, and you go the other way, okay? Yell if you find him." With that she went down the hall, peering into every compartment and asking if they had happened to find a rather large toad. But every time they would tell her no and some of them even sent her nasty looks. A few minutes later, Neville came running down the hall towards her and she smiled. "You've found him?"

"No," he said with a frown. "I've only asked a few people but-"

"Come _on _Neville," she said and began dragging him back down the hall he'd been in. _I guess if I want any work to be done I'll have to do it myself,_ Hermione thought bitterly to herself. She wrenched open a compartment door to find two boys sitting and talking to one another. The one on the left had bright red hair and was holding an overweight rat, and the boy on the right had dark hair and glasses.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked but all she got was a rather irritated reply from the boy holding the rat.

"We already told him we haven't seen it." Hermione was about to snap back when she noticed in the boys other hand he was hold what seemed to be a battered up wand. Her spirits rose.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then." She took a seat beside the boy with the glasses and crossed her arms. The boy with the rat squinted in concentration and then muttered, "Er, all right," before clearing his throat and reciting a rubbish poem that's purpose was supposed to turn the rat yellow.

When a moment passed and nothing happened, Hermione asked, "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all and it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learned all our course books by heart; of course, I just hope it will be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

The boys, including Neville gave her an odd look for she had said all of this in just one breath and it almost seemed to be part of one gigantic sentence. The red headed boy glanced at the one next to her before turning to her and muttering, "I'm Ron Weasly."

"Harry Potter," said the other.

With a gasp, Hermione finally saw that it was so obvious she couldn't believe that she had missed it the first time. A jagged scar went across his forehead and everything seemed to match up. "Are you really? I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and the Fall of the Dark Arts _and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."_

"Am I?" Harry asked, looking rather startled.

"Goodness, didn't you know?" she asked with a small laugh. "I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking all around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose that Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…. Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

With that she stood up and dragged Neville back out of the compartment and down the hall. "Well that was all no good," Neville said the frown on his face growing larger by the minute. "We still haven't found Trevor."

Hermione sighed and turned to look at him. "He'll turn up eventually, you know-" Before she could say another word she had run into someone and found herself stumbling back a few steps. Once she had recovered, Hermione looked up to see a boy with bright blond hair and an agitated look on his face. Behind him there where two more boys who were both twice as large as him.

"You ought to watch where you're going," he snapped and the two large boys chuckled.

She took a deep breath before beginning to say, "I'm sorry, but if you'd just let us pass-"

"What's your name?" he asked rather rudely, cutting her off.

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Granger," he said in a mocking tone, "if you are hoping to survive this year at Hogwarts I suggest staying out of my way." And without another word he and his two friends shoved past her and Neville, laughing as they went down the hall.

"That wasn't very polite," she mumbled to herself to returning to her and Neville's compartment. Just as the stepped inside they heard a rather large yell come from down the hall. With curiosity getting to her once again, Hermione turned to Neville and said, "I'll be right back, stay here, okay?" Walking back down the hall she heard students saying that they were now nearly to Hogwarts. Her heart was racing and she could only imagine what it would be like when they finally arrived.

Arriving at the scene of the commotion, Hermione wasn't that surprised to see it was coming from Harry Potter's compartment. The boy with the red hair, Ron, was picking up his fat rat by the tail and the boys who'd stopped her in the hall were now running in the opposite direction. "What _has _been going on?"

"No, I don't believe it," Ron said, ignoring her but instead squinting as his rat, "he's gone back to sleep!"

Harry and he began talking about the boy the boy who'd just fled, how Hermione learned to be was named Draco Malfoy. After what seemed like ages, Ron finally addressed her. "Can we help you with something?" he asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"You'd better hurry and put your robes on; I hear we'll be arriving any moment now. I hope you haven't been fighting because it won't do you any good to get in trouble already when school's not even started," she said raising her eyebrows.

"It was Scabbers, not us," Ron said with a scowl. "Now if you don't mind leaving, we'll be changing."

"All right. I only came down here because people are running around the corridors and acting awfully childish." She turned to leave but looked to Ron and added, "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" With that she left and returned to her compartment.

They'd be arriving very shortly, and Hermione has no idea what to expect. She could only hope for the best and try to avoid the worse. Even after all the reading she'd already done, she didn't feel prepared. Most of the kids going to Hogwarts had grown up living in the wizarding world, and she'd only learned of its existence a few months ago. Looking out the window she took a deep breath before and announcement rang throughout the train telling them to leave their luggage on the train and that they had finally arrived.

They had arrived at Hogwarts.

…

**A/N: This took me an hour or so to write and it was worth it! Credit to JK Rowling some of the dialogue is hers and some is mine but all credit to her for creating this amazing world and story. I hope you all like my fanfiction!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

The moment the train had stopped, everything seemed to become instantly overwhelming. People were up and out of their seats, running down the corridor to talk to their friends and pushing past everyone around them. Hermione was jostled ever which was as she attempted to get out of the compartment. Neville had gone out before her and had instantly been swallowed up in the large crowd of students. She could only hope that she wouldn't have as much trouble. Once she had finally made it outside the train, Hermione instantly spotted a large man that was standing on the other side of the tracks holding up a lantern that provided some light in the dark night.

"Firs' years!" he was hollering as a group of kids that looked her age gathered around him. The ground around them was damp and muddy so Hermione made sure to lift up her new robes so that they wouldn't get dirty. She saw the large man talking to Harry and Ron and she began to pick up the pace because it seemed that the group was being led away. It was cold outside, and even under her woolen robes Hermione could feel goose bumps coming up on her arms. "This way, firs' years!"

She turned around to get one last glimpse of the Hogwarts Express just to see that it had already left and instead a flustered Neville was running over to join them. "I couldn't find Trevor anywhere!" he exclaimed.

"But I've already told you," Hermione said as they two began walking side by side, "He's going to turn up eventually."

As the group began climbing up a small grassy hill the large man said, "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in jus' a sec." Of course, with all the reading she'd done, Hermione had already seen plenty of photos of the glorious school. But as they reached the top of the hill, she saw that none of them could have compared to this. On the other side of a dark black lake there was a castle that towered over all of the small trees and carriages below it. Each window was lit up and full of twinkling lights. Hermione's stomach flipped as she could only wonder what it would look like once they were inside. It would be so much to take in tomorrow; the classes, meeting new people. Of course, she'd also have to make a good first impression on all of her teachers.

Snapping back into reality, Hermione followed her classmates who had headed down the hill and were now loading into the many small rowboats that were sitting motionless on the top of the water. "No more'n four to a boat!" the large man hollered as everyone ambled down towards the water. She and Neville joined Ron and Harry in one of the wooden boats which was beginning to sway gently in the dark water. Once it seemed that everyone was seated and waiting the man stepped into his own boat (which was much larger than theirs) and said with a shout. "Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD."

Without and jerk or push at all, the boats began gliding across the lake and towards the castle. Hermione looked down into the water and even though it was all pitch black, she swore she saw a glimpse of something under the water. Of course, after reading _Hogwarts: A History_ as many times as she already had, Hermione knew that an uncountable amount of creatures lived in the waters depths. It sure wasn't a place that she would choose to go for a swim.

No one was speaking to one another, just looking around at the scenery and ducking when the large man said when they went under a cliff edge and through a dark tunnel. Finally docking on a rocky shore, everyone began to clamber out of their boats and amble up towards the castle. "Oy, you there!" the man said, pointing a Neville. "Is this your toad?"

"Trevor!" Neville cried out stumbling over the shore and retrieving the toad from the man's large hand.

As the group was joined by the large man and led to the entrance, Hermione caught up with Neville and not even trying to hide her smirk said, "I told you he'd turn up eventually."

…

The moment the doors opened Hermione couldn't help but gasp. The entrance to the castle was ginormous and a glowing heavenly light seemed to be coming from inside. Lit torches hung on the walls and there was a marble staircase that went up so high so that Hermione couldn't tell where it ended. In front of the staircase stood a woman with graying back hair tied up behind her head in a bun. She wore emerald green robes and was standing in the doorway, no expression daring to show on her face.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the large man said with a grunt.

With a slight nod, the witch replied, "Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here."

As the children were led inside of the magnificent castle, Hermione could hear that somewhere in a different part of the building there were people talking. It didn't take long for her to guess that it could only be the rest of the students. But instead of joining them, all of the first years were brought into a small chamber where Professor McGonagall stood patiently, waiting for the growing murmurs to stop before she finally spoke.

"I'd like to welcome you all to Hogwarts," she said and Hermione felt as though her heart might burst out of her chest it was pounding so hard. This was it. She was here _right now _at a school for witches and wizards_. _She, Hermione Granger, was going to learn _magic_. "The start-of-term banquet will begin soon, but before you will be able to take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your Houses. Your houses will be very important while you are at Hogwarts because all through your seven years here, your House will be something like a family. You will have classes with your Houses, sleep in your House dormitory, and I'm sure that's where you'll make many friends.

"As some of you may know, the four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own remarkable history and has produced many talented witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn your House points, while and rule-breaking our trouble-making will cause you to lose House points. At the end of the year, the House that ends up with the most points will be awarded with the House Cup, which is always a great honor. I hope that you all will be a credit to whichever House you are placed in."

Hermione was nodding along with the others, even though this information wasn't new news to her. She'd read all about the Houses and the House Cup in her summer reading, and had already had plenty of time to worry over which House she would be placed in. But even that didn't seem to keep her from worrying now.

With a small cough Professor McGonagall added, "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall paused as her classmates had taken this as a signal to adjust their robes and pat down their hair. Ron attempted once again to get the smudged dirt off of his nose but was once again (to her own frustration), unsuccessful.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. It would do best if you all would please wait quietly," Professor McGonagall said before she swiftly left the chamber; the doors shutting will a _click! _behind her.

Immediately everyone then burst into a series of different conversations. Hermione caught bits and pieces of what they were saying, all which seemed to add to her building anxiety.

"How do they sort us?"

"Does it hurt?"

"I'm so nervous!"

Hermione herself began reviewing everything that she had studied over the summer. _What ingredients were needed in a potion that would heal the common cold, the hand moment used to perform a simple charms spell, the type of plant that would strangle you to death if not treated in the right way-_

Her thoughts were interrupted when behind her a loud voice boasted, "I'm sure that I'll end up in Slytherin just like my father and my mother. The Slytherin House seems to run in my family, along with being a pureblood, of course." Turning around she saw it was that Draco Malfoy, the boy that she had ran into on the train. Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Draco's friends however laughed obnoxiously, seeming to have found what their superior friend had said hilarious. But before she was forced to endure it any longer a few people broke out into screams.

About 20 ghosts had floated into the room, going straight through the brick wall. They seemed to be in mid-conversation with one another. "I ought to say we give him another chance-"

"We've given Peeves too many chances as it is," said a strange looking figure who was speaking to what appeared to be a rather fat monk. Hermione recognized him as the "Fat Friar" from her reading.

"Oh look!" The monk said noticing the group of first years. With a large smile he clasped his hands together and exclaimed, "Oh, they must be about to be sorted! I hope to see some of you in Hufflepuff, it was my old House, you know!"

Suddenly Professor McGonagall came back into the room walking rather quickly. She pointed at all of the ghosts, a scowl on her face. "You all move along now, the Sorting Ceremony is just about to begin!" The ghosts all mumbled forms of "yes ma'am" and disappeared, going returning back through the wall that they had first come from. "I need you to all form a single file line," Professor McGonagall ordered, "and if you'd please follow me into the Great Hall!"

With her head pounding and her knees feeling rather weak, Hermione followed her fellow classmates as they exited the chamber and entered the Great Hall. It was a gigantic room with four very long tables set up side by side, one for each house. It was easy to tell which was which. Gryffindor students were wearing more red, Hufflepuff was yellow, Ravenclaw was blue, and Slytherin was green. At the front of the room was a long table which overlooked all of the House tables. Seated at that table were older wizards and witches who Hermione guessed to be all of the other teachers at Hogwarts. Ignoring the faces of staring older students she followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the room where there was a small four-legged stool and a ratty, dirty looking wizard's hat. As she walked she heard people announce to their friends, "That one right there, him! That's Harry Potter!"

As the group came to a halt Hermione heard some of her classmates whispering about the ceiling, which looked just like a clear night's sky and was dotted with twinkling stars. Turning to face a girl with light brown wavy hair and pale blue eyes she explained, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_." The girl gave her a weird look before Hermione decided to turn back to face the front of the room.

Everyone seemed to be staring at the hat and the reason to why was answered as the hat suddenly had a tear open up and it began singing a song about the different Houses and traits that might put you in one of the four. Hermione listened closely to every word that was spoken. According to the song, all they had to do was place the hat on their head and it would place them in their proper House.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron, who was standing a few feet away from her, said in amazement. "I'll kill Fred; he was going on and on about wrestling a troll."

Hermione suddenly felt a wave of panic crash into her. This wasn't something that she could've prepared for. No studying or review could change where this hat would choose to place her. Once a decision was made, there would be no going back. As students were called up to try on the hat, it would shout House names out loud.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Closing her eyes tightly shut, Hermione concentrated hard, trying to persuade her mind to do as she wanted. _Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor. _

Finally, Professor McGonagall announced her name. "Granger, Hermione!" With a burst of courage and determination, Hermione took a deep breath and thought it'd be best just to get up there and get it all done quickly. She hopped up the few steps that there were and sat still on the unstable stool, pulling the large dirty hat onto her head. The hat was so large that it nearly dropped down over her eyes. Suddenly it almost seemed like there was a voice in the back of her mind that was talking to her quietly. _"Smart, very smart indeed…honest, too…but there is something else there, I can see it…you are a brave soul. Not afraid of being wrong, ready to take on any new task…yes I believe you'd do very well in…GRYFFINDOR!"_

The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers and it became obvious to Hermione that they must have heard the last word that the Sorting Hat had spoken to her. Displaying a large grin, she ran over to take her spot at the Gryffindor table, getting many handshakes and pats on the back as she sat down. Letting out a sigh of relief, Hermione brushed her bushy hair out of her face. She had now been sorted into her House and tomorrow lessons would begin. Everything she'd been anticipating for months was finally coming together.

But in the back of her mind, Hermione reminded herself that it could fall apart just as quickly.

….

**A/N: I am so, so sorry that it took me such a long time to update! I'm sure you can see that this was a longer chapter full of one of what I would consider an important event! I hope you guys liked it, I'll try to update again soon!**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


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